Perpetual Chess features weekly conversations with the chess world's best players, trainers and accomplished amateurs about their careers, current projects, best practices and the latest in chess news. Learn more at PerpetualChessPod.com
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EP.229 - GM Davorin Kuljasevic
GM Davorin Kuljsevicis an author, a trainer and, of course, an accomplished chess player. Davorin has won several international tournaments and competed with the Croatian National team. As a trainer, he has coached the Finland Men’s and Women’s National Chess teams,and he has taught many titled players. In recent years, Davorin is becoming best known for his books. His first book, Beyond Material, helps players learn to sacrifice for initiative and to play more dynamically. Davorin’s new book,How to Study Chess On Your Own: Creating a Plan that Works and Sticking to it, is an expansive and instructive book that provides both chess instruction and study plans for the ambitious improver. The book, and our interview, contain useful tips on how to properly use engines, improve tactics, structure study time, and lots more. Please read on for more details and relevant timestamps. 0:00- We dive right into Davorin’s new book,How to Study Chess On Your Own: Creating a Plan that Works and Sticking to it. What advice can be gleaned from this impressive book? Mentioned: GM Efstratios Grivas, IM Lawrence Trent, GM Daniel Fridman, Kuljasevic-Fridman 2013, GM Richard Rapport, GM Judit Polgar, GM Veselin Topalov 12:00- Davorin’s book advocates a very ambitious study plan. Can it be adjusted for those who have less time to devote to chess study? Mentioned:Pump Up Your Ratingby GM Axel Smith, Berlin Wall by GM John Cox 18:00- Davorin answers a few Patreon mailbag questions, including, “Is there a minimum amount of study one must to do to expect chess improvement?” Mentioned: IM Cyrus Lakdawala 24:00- Patreon mailbag question: “How should adult improvers measure progress?” 28:00-Patreon mailbag question: “Can humans use non GM strength engines as playing partners?” Mentioned: ChessDojo, Episode 215 with Dr. Vishnu Sreekumar 31:00- How should one properly use chess engines? James Altucher Episode 716 with Garry Kasparov 37:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can check out their latest offerings here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 38:00- How can we break the spell of excessive “materialism” in chess, and learn to sacrifice for dynamic compensation? Mentioned: Beyond Material by GM Davorin Kuljasevic, Gamechangerby GM Mathew Sadler and WIM Natasha Regan, Artemiev-Motylev 2015, Mastering Positional Sacrifices by IM Merijn van Delft 46:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Check it out for free, and then, if you decide to subscribe, use the PromoCode Chess30 to save 30%. 49:00- How would Davorin ramp up for a tournament if he were getting ready to compete? Mentioned: WGM Iva Videnova, 51:00- What was it like to do a Chess TV show in Croatia? How is the chess culture there? Mentioned: Episode 160 with Agadmator, Episode 117 with Stjepian Tomic aka Hanging Pawns, Episode 223 with Dr. Luka Popov, GM Alojzije Janković 54:30- Davorin discusses his experience studying in the US at University of Texas at Dallas, and at Texas Tech University Mentioned: IM John Bartholomew, IM Dmitry Schneider, FM Andrei Zaremba 58:00- Davorin names a few of his favorite chess authors Mentioned: IM Mark Dvoretsky, GM Jacob Aagaard, GM Boris Gelfand, Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual 1:02:-- Thanks so much to Davorin for joining the show. Link below for where to reach him and purchase his books: Buy from New in Chess Publishing (including ebook): https://www.newinchess.com/how-to-study-chess-on-your-own Buy from Amazon: How to Study Chess on Your Own: Creating a Plan that Works… and Sticking to it! - Kindle edition by Kuljasevic, Davorin. Humor & Entertainment Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. Reach Davorin here: https://lichess.org/coach/GrandmasterThinking If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
EP.228 - GM Ben Finegold returns
This week we are rejoined by the always entertaining Twitch streamer,YouTube creator and accomplished Grandmaster, Ben Finegold! Ben was an early guest of Perpetual Chess, back in 2017. In the subsequent years, Ben has seen his online following grow rapidly, and The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Atlanta (which he co-founded with his wife Karen Boyd) continues to find its footing despite the pandemic. In this interview, Ben reflects on his recent success, and shares some great stories from his own journey to the GM title, his early encounters with the Polgar sisters, and some chess history wisdom regarding Magnus Carlsen, Garry Kasparov, Mikhail Tal and many others. It is always illuminating and amusing to get to chat with Ben, please read on for all of the details, relevant links and timestamps. 0:00- We begin by hearing the story of how Ben earned the GM title at the relatively late age of 40. Mentioned: Episode 9 with GM Ben Finegold, Episode 52 with GM Ben Finegold, Episode 271 “IM to GM special episode” with IMs Lawrence Trent, Sean Nagle and Attila Turzo, Bill Goichberg, Susan Polgar, Sevan Muradian, FM Peter Giannatos, GM Vishy Anand, GM Garry Kasparov, Albert Pujols, Robert Parish, GM Viktor Korchnoi, Shaquille O’Neal, Mike Tyson 18:00- Since Ben wasn’t a big book reader, to what does he attribute his chess accomplishments? Mentioned: GM Bobby Fischer, WGM Jenn Shahade, Episode 223 with Adult Improver Dr. Luka Popov 24:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Check it out for free, and then, if you decide to subscribe, use the PromoCode Chess30 to save 30%. 25:30- A Patreon supporter of the podcast asks: As someone with a popular chess center, what advice would Ben give for opening a venue in a major city? Mentioned: Episode 185 with IM Stuart Rachels, Episode 201 with FM Peter Giannatos Mentioned: The Queen’s Gambit, Silver Knights Enrichment 41:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can check out their latest offerings here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 42:00- Ben answers a Patreon mailbag question relating to the differences in playing style between GMs Magnus Carlsen and GM Garry Kasparov Mentioned: HBO’s Real Sports featuring GM Fabiano Caruana: https://www.youtube.om/watch?v=nbvrDspsGNU&feature=emb_imp_woyt Also mentioned: Paul Morphy, GM Anatoly Karpov 50:00- Ben had a few memorable games against the Polgar sisters. What were those experiences like? Mentioned: FM Emory Tate , GM Roman Dzindichashvilli, J. Polgar-Finegold 1989, Finegold, Gelfand 1989, J. Polgar-Finegold 1990, Finegold-Susan Polgar 1990 56:00- Why does Ben think he has found an audience on Chess Twitch? How does he think about some recent controversies involving chess Twitch personalities? Mentioned: GM Jon Speelman, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Eric Hansen, The Botez Sisters, GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Aman Hambleton, IM John Bartholomew, IM Eric Rosen, IM Anna Rudolf, WFM Anna Cramling, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia 1:10:00- Patreon mailbag question: Does Ben have plans to improve his Twitch clips? Mentioned: The Family Guy 1:16:00- Patreon mailbag question: Which players of the past would have been good Twitch streamers? Mentioned: GM Ljubomir Ljubojević FM Emory Tate, GM Mikhail Tal, GM Alonso Zapata 1:21:00- GM Ben Finegold was featured in Sasha Chapin’s entertaining book All the Wrong Moves. What were Ben’s experiences with Sasha like? Mentioned: Episode 152 with Sasha Chapin, Howard Stern, George Stephonopoulos, 1:26:00- Thanks, as always to Ben for joining the show. Here is how to keep up with him: Twitch- https://www.twitch.tv/gmbenjaminfinegold Twitter- https://twitter.com/ben_finegold?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Ben’s Personal Youtube Channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6EnFbK-P5q0zeaqI5yobKg Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Atlanta Youtube Channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqLLqbclDQ6IQg39Wsgy-4w See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
EP.227 - WFM Maria Emelianova
WFM Maria Emelianova a/k/a “Photochess” is a popular Twitch streamer, photographer, translator, and chess journalist. Maria often spends more than half of her time travelling to cover and help organize chess tournaments. She has accumulated many memorable images and great stories from her time on the chess beat. To give an idea of her schedule, Maria worked on staff at the 2020-2021 FIDE Candidates in her native Yekaterinaburg, Russia, and she joined the podcast en route home from working at the Russian Team Championship in Sochi. In our conversation, Maria gave a first hand perspective on the Candidates Tournament, and we also touched on Maria’s chess book recommendations. We talked about her career as a chess competitor, as well as stories from her life as a chess photographer and advice regarding chess photography, Twitch streaming, and much more. Please read on for timestamps, lots more details and links related to this fun conversation. 0:00- As an Yekaterinaburg native and resident, Maria was part of the FIDE Candidates staff. She describes what her work entailed and gives some behind-the-scenes info from the tournament. Mentioned: https://www.sima-land.ru/, WGM Leya Garifullina, GM Ian Nepomniatchtchi, GM Peter Leko, Lennart Ootes 24:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can check out their latest offerings here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 24:45- What are Maria’s favorite chess resources? Mentioned: My Great Predecessors , Decision Making in Major Piece Endings , Chess Life Magazine, IM Elizabeth Paehtz’s Twitch channel- https://www.twitch.tv/ellipaehtz 32:30- Maria discusses her decision to play internationally for the United Kingdom, rather than Russia 39:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Check it out for free, and then, if you decide to subscribe, use the PromoCode Chess30 to save 30%. 39:45- Maria reflects on her experiences as a Twitch streamer and shares some advice for other aspiring streamers and chess professionals. Mentioned: Twitch Streamer MrLlamaSC- https://www.twitch.tv/mrllamasc Also Mentioned: Episode 180 with IM Levy Rozman, Episode 140 with GM Aman Hambleton 53:30- Maria tells the memorable story of her first gig as a chess photographer Mentioned: GM Alexander Motylev, Former FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov 1:00:00- What makes for a good chess photo? Who are Maria’s favorite players to photograph? Mentioned: GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Ian Nepomniatchtchi, GM Anton Korobov, GM Alexander Grischuk 1:07:30- Which of Maria’s 5 cats is most beloved by her Twitch viewers? 1:13:00- Thanks so much to Maria for joining the show. Here is how you can keep up with her: Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/photochess Webpage: https://photochess.com/ Chess.com: https://www.chess.com/member/photochess Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photochess/?hl=en Twitter: https://twitter.com/photochess?lang=en Reddit Photo Challenge: https://www.reddit.com/r/photoshopbattles/comments/6kywwe/psbattle_world_chess_champion_receiving_golden/ If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do here: https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
EP.226 - Tim Krabbé
Tim Krabbé is a popular Dutch novelist who is probably best known for the cult cycling classic The Rider, and the book The Vanishing, which was adapted into film in both The Netherlands and the U.S. In chess circles, Tim is a strong player who was once among the top 20 in the Netherlands, and he was a competitor in two Dutch National Championships. He has written for New in Chess Magazine, and wrote a classic (out of print) book called Chess Curiosities. Around the late 1990s and 2000s, Tim maintained an amazing blog which tracked chess news, shared stories and contained many noteworthy chess studies and records. Tim no longer updates the blog, but fortunately he maintains the archive, so that chess fans still can immerse themselves in it. Tim has accumulated some great stories from his interactions with legends like GMs Jan Timman, Garry Kasparov, and Vishy Anand. In our interview, he shares a few of the stories, assesses the chess boom, and shares his wisdom on the topics of writing, cycling, longevity, and of course, chess. Please read on for more details and relevant hyperlinks. 0:00- We dive right into chess talk, as Tim shares his thoughts on the FIDE Candidates tournament, and discusses his current relationship with chess. Mentioned: GM Anish Giri, GM Ian Nepomniatchtchi, Babson tasks , Episode 210 with Tom Vanderbilt. See Tom Vanderbilt’s profile of Tim Krabbé here- https://www.bicycling.com/news/a20026829/think-you-understand-the-rider-think-again/ 09:45- Tim made a comeback to cycling in his 60’s, and still works hard on his writing at the age of 78. What advice does he have for staying mentally and physically robust? This segues into Tim’s thoughts on the relative differences between chess, cycling, and racing. 16:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can check out their latest offerings here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 16:45- Tim answers a few questions from The Patreon mailbag relating to whether there are any similarities between cycling and chess. Mentioned: Marc Cavendish, GM Simen Agdestein, Tim’s article about Simen is here: https://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/chess2/agd_eng.htm 23:30- Tim tells the memorable story of how Bobby Fischer’s achievement’s deterred him from pursuing professional chess. He then tells a few stories derived from his attending the Fischer-Spassky World Championship in 1972. Game 1 here- https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044722 Also mentioned: GM Friðrik Ólafsson 30:30- Patreon mailbag question: “How important does Tim think exercise is for competing at chess?” 34:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Check it out for free, and then, if you decide to subscribe, use the PromoCode Chess30 to save 30%. 35:00- What is Tim’s most cherished chess memory? What sites does he read? Mentioned: Leonid Yarosh’s Babson Task- more info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babson_task Also mentioned: Chessbase.com, Chessvibes.com 40:30- What are Tim’s favorite chess books? Mentioned: The Kingby GM Jan Hein Donner, Hein Donner, The Biography, The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal 44:00- What does Tim think about the future of chess? Mentioned: GM Jan Timman, Read Tim’s chess short story, Master Jacobson, here: https://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/text/jacobson.htm 49:00- What advice does Tim have for how to tell a good story? Who are his favorite novelists? Mentioned: Lev Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Ivan Turgenev 53:00- Tim describes a memorable interaction with legendary World Champion Garry Kasparov. Mentioned: Kasparov vs. Piket 1995, Tim’s piece A Walk with Garry Kasparov: https://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/text/kaspeng.html Thanks so much to Tim for sharing his stories and wisdom! Read his archive here:https://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/chess/chess.html Purchase his books here: https://www.amazon.com/Tim-Krabbe/e/B000APEA88%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share You can reach him at timkr At xs4all.nl See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
EP.225 - GM Axel Smith
This week I am joined by one of my favorite modern authors, Grandmaster Axel Smith. Axel is a two-time Swedish Chess Olympiad member, who is probably best known for co-authoring the 2017 book, The Woodpecker Method with his fellow Grandmaster, Hans Tikkanen. Axel has written a few other books, which are excellent guides for more advanced players. They are Pump Up Your Rating, e3 Poison, and his latest offering from Quality Chess, Street Smart Chess. In our interview we discuss all of these books, and touch on topics like the origins of The Woodpecker Method, Axel’s own experience with using spaced repetition, and his improvement advice for ambitious club players. There are lots of useful nuggets in our conversation, so I hope you will enjoy it. Please read on for more details, timestamps, and relevant links. 0:00- We begin by discussing what is probably GM Axel Smith’s most popular book, the famed The Woodpecker Method, which he co-wrote with GM Hans Tikkanen. The book is available from Amazon and is very popular on Chessable. Mentioned: Book Recap #6 discussing Woodpecker Method with Neal Bruce, Episode 187 with Christopher Chabris, Episode 216 with Dr. Jana Krivec 15:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can check out their latest offerings here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 16:00- In Pump Up Your Rating, Axel listed the 4 key components of chess improvement: “ (1) analyzing your games and making a ‘list of mistakes;” (2) using a De la Maza-esque program to study tactics; (3) doing serious opening work via the creation of ‘opening files’ in ChessBase; and (4) mastering approximately 100 key theoretical endgames.” Does he still think this is the best approach? Mentioned: 100 Endgames You Must Know 20:45- In e3 Poison, Axel mentioned that we may be entering a post theoretical era- what does he mean by that? Mentioned: GM Anish Giri 24:30- What players does Axel look up to? Mentioned: GM Stellan Brynell, GM Ulf Andersson, YouTube Video- Play Like Ulf Andersson - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDo--EPHnfc 27:00-Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Check it out for free, and then, if you decide to subscribe, use the PromoCode Chess30 to save 30%. 28:30 What is the theme of Axel’s newest book, Street Smart Chess? Mentioned: Forward Chess, Street Smart Chess, Free book excerpt from Quality Chess here: http://www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/StreetSmartChess-excerpt.pdf GM David Navara, GM Aryan Tari, GM Baskaran Adhiban, GM Laurent Fressinet,GM Peter Heine Nielsen, GM Magnus Carlsen, My Chess World, The Secret Ingredient by Jan Markos and GM David Navara 39:45- What is the chess culture like in Sweden? 41:00- What are some of Axel’s favorite books? Mentioned: Learn from the Legends, Move First Think Later, On the Origin of the Good Moves 46:00- Axel Smith shares some life and chess advice before departing. You can keep up with him via his website: http://www.schackstudion.se/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
EP.224 - GM Ruslan Ponomariov
This week’s guest is none other than former FIDE World Champion, 2 time Olympiad Gold Medalist, and 2011 Ukrainian National Champion, GM Ruslan Ponomariov! With the FIDE Candidates having concluded it was a great time to hear the thoughts of this genial super grandmaster. In our conversation, Ruslan puts the 2020-2021 FIDE Candidates into historical context, shares his perspective on GM Ian Nepomniachtchi’s victory, and then assesses the 2021 World Championship matchup between Nepomniachtchi and GM Magnus Carlsen. We then delve into GM Ponomariov’s storied career. How does he reflect on having been the youngest FIDE World Champion ever? What is he up to these days? We discuss this and much more in this fascinating, wide-ranging interview. Please read on for lots more details and timestamps. 0:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can check out their latest offerings, inclluding IM Christof Sielecki's course on the Pirc defense here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 2:00- We begin, of course, by discussing the just-ended FIDE Candidates Tournament. What were GM Ponomariov’s impressions of the FIDE Candidates Tournament? Mentioned: Curacao 1962: The Battle That Shook the Chess World, GM Garry Kasparov, GM Alexei Dreev, Alexander Grischuk, GM Garry Kasparov, Rublevsky vs. Ponomariov 2007 20:00- How does he assess GM IanIan Nepomniachtchi’’s chances vs. Magnus Carlsen? Mentioned: Bwin World Championship Odds- https://sports.bwin.com/en/sports/events/world-championship-2021-11184631 GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Peter Heine Nielsen 26:00- Ruslan answers a question from the Perpetual Chess Patreon mailbag: “How would a world championship team typically prepare for a match?” Ruslan describes his own experiences working with Magnus Carlsen. Mentioned: The Anand Files, GM Wang Hao, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, GM Sergei Karjakin, GM Boris Gelfand 37:00- Patreon mailbag question: “How does Ruslan place his FIDE World Champion title within historical context?” Mentioned: GM Viswanathan Anand, GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Bobby Fischer 43:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Check it out for free, and then, if you decide to subscribe, use the PromoCode Chess30 to save 30%. 44:30- Patreon mailbag question: “Does Ruslan have any professional chess plans outside of continuing to compete?” Mentioned: Dortmund Chess Days 2021 51:30- Patreon question: “Does GM Ponomariov have any suggestions for how to avoid information overload?” Mentioned: GM Noel Studer’s blog- https://t.co/4zQNhZV958?amp=1 56:00- GM Ponomariov discusses some of the chess-related projects on which he is working. Mentioned: German Bundeslga, GM Vladimir Baklan, GM Pavel Elianov, GM Yuriy Kuzubov, Russian Language Academy of Olympic Champions website here: Академия Олимпийских Чемпионов 1:01:00- Does Ruslan have any good stories involving GM Vasyl Ivanchuk? Has he ever played him in checkers? Mentioned: Ivanchuk interview with Fiona Steil Antoni: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGpT9el_9i8, GM Peter Heine Nielsen, GM Alexander Morozevich, GM Tiger Hillarp Person, GM Emanuel Lasker, GM Anatoly Karpov, GM Mikhail Podharetz 1:15:00- Twitter question from GM Denes Boros: “Is there anything GM Ponomariov would have done differently from his time at the top of the chess world?” Mentioned: GM Yuriy Kryvoruchko , GM Vladimir Topolov, GM Viswanathan Anand, GM Wang Hao 1:23:00- In view of the fact that Ruslan lives in Spain, I asked whether he does any chess work there, or is it primarily on the road, and in his native Ukraine? 1:29:00- In 2008, GM Ponomariov told Chessbase.com of his desire to travel through the Mongolian steppes. Has he taken that trip yet? 1:32:00- Thanks so much to GM Ponomariov for sharing his time and reflections. Here is how you can keep up with him: Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ruslanponomariov Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ponomariov?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Book Recap #16: Discussing Logical Chess Move by Move with Barry Katz
Welcome to another bonus book recap podcast, also known as Chess Books Recaptured! This month’s book of choice is one of the most popular beginner-oriented chess books of all time, Irving Chernev’s Logical Chess Move by Move. My guest co-host this month is Barry Katz. Barry is a Brooklyn based father of 4, and college writing instructor who discovered chess in recent years through the interest of his son. Irving Chernev has left quite a legacy as an accomplished and popular writer of 20 chess books. Logical Chess Move by Move was first published in 1957, so some have suggested it is outdated, but both Barry and I find it to be very readable and instructive, and an excellent book for those looking to understand the timeless principles of master level chess play. Please read on for lots more details, timestamps and relevant links. 0:00- Barry shares a bit about his background, and we discuss why we chose to discuss Logical Chess Move by Move by Irving Chernev Mentioned: Facebook Chess Books Collectors Group, GM Max Illingworth, GM Andy Soltis, Brian Karen, World Chess Hall of Fame, Chernev tribute: https://worldchesshof.org/hof-inductee/irving-chernev Also Mentioned: Episode 221 with Chris Callhan, Lichess Study Featuring Logical Chess Move by Move: https://lichess.org/study/Wn7aMkPy, Jen Shahade, Mike Klein, Capablanca’s Best Chess Endings, The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played The 1979 Chernev interview from the Chess Life and Review archive can be found here: http://uscf1-nyc1.aodhosting.com/CL-AND-CR-ALL/CL-ALL/1979/1979_All.pdf 12:45- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can check out their latest offerings here: Chessable.com 13:45- Is Logical Chess Move by Move secretly a good guide to openings? What other move by move chess books are available on the market? Mentioned: The Scandinavian Defense, Understanding Chess Move by Move by GM John Nunn, Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy by IM John Watson, Episode 41 with GM Judit Polgar 20:30- We share a few noteworthy quotes of Chernev discussing the common early moves of chess games. Mentioned: IM Andras Toth, Girl vs. Wang Hao 2021 32:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Check it out for free, and then if you decide to subscribe use the PromoCode Chess30 to save 30%. 33:30- We share a few more favorite quotes from the book. Mentioned: Dan Heisman, IM Eric Rosen, Jose Rauol Capablanca, Harry Pillsbury, GM Sam Shankland, Siegbert Tarrasch 44:30- We discuss a couple of our favorite games from the podcast. Mentioned: Rubinstein-Salwe 1908, Tarrasch-Mieses 1916 48:00- What were our main chess improvement takeaways? Mentioned: GM Ben Finegold, Caruana-Vachier-Lagrave 2021, World’s Most Instructive Amateur Game Book by Dan Heisman, IM Cyrus Lakdawala 59:00- Thanks so much to Barry Katz for helping out this month’s book recap. You can email him at: Iambarrykatz at gmail.com Mentioned: Subscribe to FM Nate Solon’s email newsletter here: Zwischenzug (substack.com), Bronstein’s Zurich 1953 book, Najdorf’s Zurich 1953 book If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
EP.223 - Dr. Luka Popov (Adult Improver Series)
My guest on the podcast is adult improver Dr. Luka Popov. Luka is a 39 year-old Croatian dad, theoretical physics Ph.D., software engineer and content creator. Luka started serious chess in 2017, and was primarily emphasizing over-the-board chess before the pandemic. Then he switched to online chess, and his Lichess rapid rating has gained about 250 points in the last 1.5 years. Luka shares a lot of his wisdom and experiences on his YouTube channel called “The Adult Chess Improver.” As the channel and our interview make clear, Luka has quickly gained expertise in the topic of adult chess improvement, and our interview is filled with quality recommendations for like-minded players. Please read on for lots more details. My guest on the podcast is adult improver Dr. Luka Popov. Luka is a 39 year-old Croatian dad, theoretical physics Ph.D., software engineer and content creator. Luka started serious chess in 2017, and was primarily emphasizing over-the-board chess before the pandemic. Then he switched to online chess, and his Lichess rapid rating has gained about 250 points in the last 1.5 years. Luka shares a lot of his wisdom and experiences on his YouTube channel called “The Adult Chess Improver.” As the channel and our interview make clear, Luka has quickly gained expertise in the topic of adult chess improvement, and our interview is filled with quality recommendations for like-minded players. Please read on for lots more details. 0:00- Luka delves into his chess background. Mentioned: Agadmator, Hanging Pawns 12:00- Why does Luka think many titled players struggle to understand the plight of adult improvers? Mentioned: IM Andras Toth, Dr. Jana Krivec 17:45- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest offerings here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 18:30- Why is it important for improvers to try to acquire chess skills rather than gain chess knowledge? Mentioned: Neal Bruce 26:00 What do Luka’s family and friends think of his chess hobby? 28:30- Luka answers a question from the Patreon mailbag relating to developing board visualization. Mentioned:: Jason Cigan, JJ Lang, Benedictine’s Basic Chess Patterns: https://www.chessable.com/basic-chess-patterns-/course/46181/ Also Mentioned: Chesstempo, Perpetual Chess Book Recap of Woodpecker Method and Michael De La Maza’s Rapid Chess Improvement: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2020/4/17/bonus-pod-recapping-the-woodpecker-method-and-rapid-chess-improvement-with-neal-bruce 36:45- Patreon mailbag question: “What are the best ways to improve tactically and strategically respectively?” Mentioned: GM Jesse Kraai, IM John Bartholomew, IM Andras Toth, GM Jacob Aagaard’s Thinking Inside the Box 43:00- Luka answers another Patreon question: “What is the best way to improve at endgames?” Mentioned: 100 Endgames You Must Know, Positional Chess Handbook by FM Israel Gelfer 45:30- Patreon question: “What advice does Luka have when it comes to setting goals?” 50:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. If you subscribe use the PromoCode Chess30 to save 30%. 51:00- How does Luka think about the concept of “ceilings” in chess potential? 55:30- What are Luka’s plans for tournaments as the pandemic recedes? 1:01:00- What other hobbies does Luka have? 1:05:00- Thanks so much to Dr. Popov for joining the show. Be sure to follow his YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCChy0letCdw0KtnMnfAukLw You can email him at drpopovchess at gmail.com - If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: Donate — The Perpetual Chess Podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
EP.222 - GM Peter Svidler returns
This week on Perpetual Chess, we are fortunate to get a return visit from the legendary commentator, Super GM, and now Chessable author, GM Peter Svidler! Peter talked with me a few days before he was set to depart for Yekaterinaburg, Russia. Yekaterinburg, of course, is where the FIDE Candidates Tournament will resume after being postponed amidst the Covid pandemic in March 2020. The tournament resumes on April 19, and the winner of the tournament will face GM Magnus Carlsen for the World Championship in November of 2021. As a competitor in prior Candidates Tournaments, and someone who is now assisting GM Kirill Alekseenko, one of the participants, it was amazing to hear GM Svidler’s perspective on the tournament. Of course, GM Svidler has also just released his much anticipated Chessable course, Lifetime Repertoires: Peter Svidler’s Grunfeld. We talked about how he researched this huge project, as well as what surprised him about the process of writing his first Chessable course. Lastly, we got lots of questions from supporters of the Perpetual Chess Podcast. GM Svidler tackled questions relating to his famed modesty, his plans for competing and commentating in 2021, and much more. Please read on for more details, timestamps, and relevant links. 0:00- We begin by discussing the FIDE Candidates Tournament, which is set to resume on April 19, 2021. Mentioned: Russian Superfinals, GM Kirill Alekseenko, FIDE Candidates Wikipedia Page including participants and standings here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chess_Championship_2021 Candidates odds to win: https://sports.bwin.com/en/sports/events/candidates-tournament-2020-9514213 22:30- Peter answers the first question from the Perpetual Chess Patreon mailbag: “is it possible that Peter’s famed modesty gives him a competitive disadvantage?” Mentioned: GM Sergei Shipov 26:30- Perpetual Chess is proud to be brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can pick up GM Peter Svidler’s The Grunfeld: Lifetime Repertoires Part 1 here: https://www.chessable.com/lifetime-repertoires-peter-svidlers-grunfeld-part-1/course/63116/ The free short and sweet version is here: https://www.chessable.com/short-sweet-peter-svidlers-grunfeld/course/70030/ 27:00 What were the biggest challenges of creating Peter’s much- anticipated course on the Grunfeld opening? Mentioned: GM Danill Dubov, GM Harikrishna 41:25- Patreon question: How can a player improve at quiet positions? Mentioned: Peter’s Svidler’s “Training with Tani” Youtube Series 48:30- Patreon question: “When will we see Peter and GM Jan Gustafsson announcing again?” 53:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Aimchess collects and analyzes your online games and gives you actionable advice on what phases to work on. You can check out their site for free, and if you sign up, use the Promo Code “Chess30” to save 30% 54:00- Patreon question: “Does Peter’s love for the video game Hearthstone help his chess?” GM Evgeny Tomashevsky, GM Ian Nepomniatchi 56:30- Patreon questions: “Will Peter ever write a chess book? If he did, what would it be about?” Mentioned: Masterclass with GM Yannick Pelletier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paCReNKAcNg Peters’s Recap of his Tilburg 1997 win vs. GM Garry Kasparov https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1iefMAb-Tk Also Mentioned: GM Boris Gelfand’s books with GM Jacob Aagaard, FM Michiel Abeln’s The Anand Files, From London to Elista 1:04:00- Patreon question: “Who are Peter’s favorite cricket players?” 1:05:30- Patreon question: “Does Peter think that there are similarities between learning languages and chess?” Mentioned: Leisure Suit Larry 1:10:00- Thanks to much to GM Peter Svidler for re-joining the show! Here are the links for his Twitter account, Twitch Streaming, and Chessable course: https://twitter.com/polborta?lang=en https://www.twitch.tv/plbrta https://www.chessable.com/discussion/thread/242991/lifetime-repertoire-the-grunfeld-peter-svidler-/ Peter Svidler “Lifetime Repertoires” Grunfeld-Part 1- Course Giveaway Instructions! Go to Perpetual Chess Youtube page here- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtcudElmRsQYTwULtd_gnFw/videos Subscribe to the channel and take a screenshot Email the screenshot to ben@perpetualchesspod.com with the subject header “YouTube” Done! Deadline April 30. Winners will be determined by random drawing, and announced via email on May 1. I will not be able to respond to all contestants emails, but you all should get an email when the winners are announced. Thanks for playing! If you would like to join the Perpetual Chess Patreon community, or to help support Perpetual Chess in other ways, you can learn more here: Donate — The Perpetual Chess Podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
EP.221 - Chris Callahan of LiChess.org
This week we are joined by Chris Callahan, who is the Community Organizer of LiChess.org. Lichess is a community supported, free, open-source, ad- and tracker-free chess site which plays host to over 5 million chess games per day. Back in 2017, I interviewed its founder, Thibault Duplessis, so it was past time to catch up on all that is new with this great site. It has been especially important during the past year as online chess has surged in popularity. We discussed everything from how they dealt with a huge traffic surge, to their capabilities in the area of cheating detection. We talked about the viability of their current business plan as well as their future plans. Chris also delved a bit into his own chess background, and shared his unique perspective on scholastic chess teaching and chess improvement. It was fun to catch up with him and to learn more about this website on which so many of us enjoy playing on a daily basis. 0:00- Chris shares a bit about his chess background, what is new with Lichess founder Thibault Duplessis, and how he became a LiChess employee, Mentioned: IM Christof Sielecki, LiChess Studies , Episode 25- Thibault Duplessis 7:00- LiChess traffic doubled in 2 weeks when the pandemic hit. How did they handle it? As a donation-driven non-profit, how is LiChess holding up financially? Mentioned: The Lichess Costs document we reference is here: http://lichess.org/costs 16:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com! Check out their latest here, including GM Peter Svidler's much anticipated course on the Grunfeld: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 17:00- Chris answers a Patreon mailbag question relating to various Lichess capabilities and future plans including what their philosophy is on sharing their open source coding. 25:30- Chris discusses a recent controversy involving Chessbase and the open source community. It is alleged that Chessbase was not transparent about using Stockfish’s Open Source Code for its Fat Fritz engine. More info in Peter Dogger’s summary here: https://www.chess.com/news/view/chessbase-fat-fritz-2-stockfish-leela-chess-zero 31:00- What is Lichess’ approach to the use of a cheat detection/engine by players? Mentioned: Episode 18 with IM Danny Rensch, Episode 136 with IM Ken Regan, GM Wesley So, GM Raunak Sadhwhani 48:00- What are the goals of the LiChess Twitch and YouTube channels? What other projects might LiChess work on? Mentioned: LiChess Study- Logical Chess Move by Move: https://lichess.org/study/Wn7aMkPy 58:00- What is Chris’ guiding principle in teaching chess to kids? What else would Chris like to see change in the chess community? Mentioned: IM Eric Rosen and The Stafford Gambit, Chess for Zebras 1:05:00- Thanks so much to Chris for sharing his knowledge and catching us up on Lichess. Join the LiChess Discord here: https://lichess.org/team/chesscord-discord-community You can follow Chris on LiChess here: https://lichess.org/@/NoJoke If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: The Perpetual Chess Podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
EP.220 - Bruce Pandolfini
Bruce Pandolfini is a trailblazer for American chess who is well known as a top scholastic coach, prolific author, and consultant on landmark chess productions like the 1993 movie, Searching for Bobby Fischer, and the 2020 smash hit Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit. Bruce even served on the announcing team for PBS in the legendary 1972 Fischer vs. Spassky World Championship match. With such a resume, obviously Bruce has accumulated a treasure trove of stories, and perspective. In our interview, Bruce drew on his experience as an early coach of future GM Fabiano Caruana and IM Josh Waitzkin to discuss the nature of chess talent, and he told stories of a few of his interactions with Bobby Fischer as a New Yorker of the same generation. Bruce also opined on the growth of and future of chess, and discussed his involvement in The Queen’s Gambit, both the novel and the series. Obviously,I found this to be an entertaining and informative interview, and I hope that you will as well. Please read on for more details and links related to all that we discussed. 0:00- We begin by reliving some stories from Bruce’s youth in Brooklyn, and his interactions with chess legends like Bobby Fischer and GM Larry Evans. Mentioned: Caroline Marshall, Fabiano Caruana, Billy Wilder, Stanley Kubrick, Al Horowitz 9:30- How did Bruce end up a part of the announcing team for PBS for the 1972 Fischer vs. Spassky “Match of the Century?” Mentioned: Shelby Lyman, Eugene Meyer, GM Edmar Mednis, Dustin Hoffman, GM Nicolas Rossolimo, IM Bernard Zuckerman. Bobby Fischer’s Outrageous Chess Moves, Here is the video of Bobby Fischer appearing on The Tonight Show in 1972- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxvnEwvgfeI, Saul Bellow, Kurt Vonnegut 22:00- Perpetual Chess is proud to be brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can always check out what’s new there through this link: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 23:00- Patreon mailbag question: “How does Bruce deal with students whose parents are challenging?“ Mentioned: Bill Goichberg 29:00- Does Bruce notice any traits in common amongst the top talents he has worked with such as IM Josh Waitzkin and GM Fabiano Caruana? Carol Ann Caronia, Fred Waitzkin, Bonnie Waitzkin. Lou Caruana, Robert Hess, GM Joel Benjamin, GM Miron Sher 37:00- Another Patreon Mailbag question: “What are some of Bruce’s favorite chess books?” Mentioned: My 60 Memorable Games, Botvinnik: One Hundred Selected Chess Games, Alekhine’s My Best Games of Chess, Fred Reinfeld’s The Human Side of Chess, Irving Chernev, GM Andy Soltis 39:00- Another question from a Patreon supporter: “How has Bruce’s chess improvement advice changed over the years?” Mentioned: Shelby Lyman 46:30- Bruce answers the question, “How has the rise of chess on YouTube and Twitch impacted Bruce’s students?” Mentioned: Jose Raoul Capablanca, Wilhelm Steinitz 52:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com. Check out their website and subscribe to their YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMBUU6aq2b07VtTAMO0xGTw 53:00- We talk about Bruce’s work on The Queen’s Gambit, both Walter Tevis’ novel and the series. Mentioned: John Hartmann interview with Bruce Pandolfini: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpfWu-OvAlg Also Mentioned: Bill Horberg, Scott Frank, Anya Taylor Joy, Garry Kasparov’s talk with the US Chess Girl’s Group is here: https://www.kasparov.com/garry-kasparov-talks-to-us-chess-girls-group-about-the-queens-gambit/ Also Mentioned: Searching for Bobby Fischer, Lasker’s Manual of Chess, 1:03:00- In closing, we discuss Bruce’s future projects, including whether he may ever write a memoir. Thanks so much to Bruce for joining the show! Mentioned: Kimberly Doo McVay If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
EP.219 - Tunde Onakoya (founder of Chess in Slums)
Twenty-six year-old Tunde Onakoya is one of the top 50 chess players in his native Nigeria (rated 2165 FIDE), and is the founder of a life-changing organization called Chess in Slums. This organization introduces chess to kids in the slums of Lagos, Nigeria, and uses the game as a learning tool to instill confidence and teach critical thinking. It's a much-needed program, because the kids learning about chess are often unable to go to school due to financial or other life circumstances. As Tunde tells us, he was one of those kids not that long ago. Tunde credits chess with changing his life and aims to do the same for the next generation. Tunde is also a musician, a tech aficionado, a speed chess lover, and he has a university degree in Computer Science. Despite his many talents, it is his work bringing chess to kids that inspires him the most, and Tunde joined me amidst a week where a swarm of media attention had helped convince him to devote even more time and energy to the Chess in Slums cause. Tunde tells an inspiring story which is still in its early stages. Please read on for more details, relevant links and timestamps of our interview. 0:00- We begin by discussing the hectic week that Tunde had preceding our interview, in the wake of a viral tweet of his about the Chess in Slums program, that begat lots of message and media requests. 7:30- Tunde tells the story of how he discovered chess during his own childhood, and how the game changed the trajectory of his life. Mentioned: Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, Jose Raoul Capablanca 15:45- What were the beginnings of the Chess in Slums program? Mentioned: Chess in Slums’ Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/chessinslums/?igshid=zmqk3bq3d52e Here is a tweet with the story of the girl named Basirat https://twitter.com/Tunde_OD/status/1265289693731721216?s=20 Facebook page here- https://www.facebook.com/pg/chessinslums/posts/ 27:45- How do the kids in the slums respond to chess? 31:30- Perpetual Chess is proud to be brought to you in part by Chessable.com. They are having a big sale this week, to check out what's available, you can go here: Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 32:00- Tunde discusses Chess.com/Chesskid’s sponsorship of Chess in the Slums. Mentioned: Carey Fan, University of California, The Chess in Slums Go Fund Me link is here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/chess-education-in-africa?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf%20share-flow-1& 40:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com! Check out Chessmood’s blog here: https://chessmood.com/blog and check out their YouTube, featuring Lessons with a Grandmaster here: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChessMood 40:30-Tunde explains a bit about how the Nigerian school system works, and about the living situation for himself and the local kids. 48:00- Is a chess culture taking hold in Nigeria? 51:30- We talk a bit about Tunde's own blitz game. Mentioned: Perpetual Chess Episode 42 with James Altucher, IM Eric Rosen, GM Simon Williams (Ginger GM), GInger GM’s Iron English course: https://www.chessable.com/the-iron-english-botvinnik-variation/course/50500/ Here is Tunde’s Lichess account: https://lichess.org/@/giftedhandz 58:00 Thanks so much to Tunde for joining the show, and for the work that he is doing! Please support Chess in Slums if you are able. Here is all the contact info you need: The Chess in Slums Go Fund Me link is here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/chess-education-in-africa?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf%20share-flow-1& Twitter- https://twitter.com/Tunde_OD Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/chessinslums/?igshid=zmqk3bq3d52e Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/pg/chessinslums/posts/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Book Recap #15 : Discussing Secrets of Practical Chess and Attacking the Strongpoint
After a one month hiatus, Chess Books Recaptured is back to discuss two chess books, Grandmaster Igor Zaitsev’s Attacking the Strongpoint, and GM John Nunn’s Secrets of Practical Chess. The guest co-host this month is a regular visitor of the show, cognitive scientist and USCF Master Christopher Chabris. As we discuss, these books tackle chess study from opposite perspectives, as GM Zaitsev’s book has a very philosophical tone, while GM Nunn’s classic lives up to its promise of giving lots of practical advice for chess competitors. Of course, there is much to be learned from both books, and it is always a pleasure to talk chess with Dr. Chabris. Please read on for more details and timestamps. Click here to download the Episode Episode 95 with Christopher Chabris Episode 187 with Christopher Chabris Book Recap: Think Like a Grandmaster by Kotov Attacking the Strongpoint: The Philosophy of Chess by GM Igor Zaitsev Secrets of Practical Chess by GM John Nunn 0:00- How did we choose these two books? Mentioned: GM Anatoly Karpov, IM Mark Dvoretsky, GM Jacob Aagaard 08:00- We break down Attacking the Strongpoint including its title origins, highlights and weaknesses. 16:00 -Perpetual Chess is proud to be brought to you in part by Chessable.com. They are having a big sale this week, to check out what's available, you can go here: Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 17:00- Sample quotes from the book Mentioned: Steinitz-von Bardeleben 1895, Capablanca-Tartakower 1924, GM Genna Sosonko 30:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com 31:00- What can we learn from Secrets of Practical Chess? Mentioned: Secrets of Grandmaster Chess, Understanding Chess Move by Move, Beating the Siclian, Alexander Kotov’s Think Like a Grandmaster , Episode 8 with GM Sam Shankland , Andersson-Mestel 1982 IM John Watson’s The Week in Chess review of Secrets of Practical Chess is here: https://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/three-improvement-books Dr. Patzer’s Review of Secrets of Practical Chess: https://patzersreview.blogspot.com/2020/01/nunns-secrets.html Book Recap Podcast of Woodpecker Method and Rapid Chess Improvement with Neal Bruce: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/book-recap-woodpecker-method-rapid-chess-improvement/id1185023674?i=1000471766064 Nikolaos Ntirlis (Quality Chess Author) 1:13:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com! Check out Chessmood’s blog here: https://chessmood.com/blog and check out their YouTube, featuring Lessons with a Grandmaster here: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChessMood 1:13:45- We summarize our thoughts on Secrets of Practical Chess and get a quick update on Christopher and his son’s latest chess studies. Mentioned: Chess Middlegames by Laszlo Polgar, GM Jan Markos, GM Michael Adams 1:26:00- Thanks as always to Christopher Chabris for helping out. You can check out his website here: chabris.com This month’s donation will go to Washington International Chess Tournament, more info here: https://www.mdchess.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=featured&Itemid=49 1:27:00- Blindfold puzzle #1- d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 b5 4. a4 c6 5. axb5 cxb5 What move did Greco play to make his opponent resign? (Answer shown in game link) Blindfold puzzle #2- d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ne4 4. Nf3 d6 5. exd6 Bxd6 6. g3?? Black to play and win material (Answer shown in game link) If you would like to help support the podcast, you can do so here: Donate — The Perpetual Chess Podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
EP.218 - GM Max Illingworth
GM Max Illingworth is one of Australia’s top players and is the 2 time national Australian Champion among other distinctions. in recent years, Max has shifted his focus from competing to training. His work ethic has evident, as in the last years ce co-authored the book, Dismantling the Sicilian, contributes actively on Facebook chess forums, and has launched his own training site, Illingworth Chess Academy. In our interview, we dive deep into the topic of chess improvement, and Max provides a lot of good insights about how he became so strong at tournament chess, blitz chess, and even the chess variant called Crazyhouse! Please read on for all of the details and timestamps. 0:00- We begin by discussing Max’s approach to adapting the right mindset for chess. Mentioned: Facebook Chess Endgame Studies and Composition Group, IM Cyrus Lakdawala, Chess Improvement: Its All in the Mindset, 8:30- Max discusses his affinity for a chess variant called Crazyhouse 10:30- What did Max do to raise his online blitz rating from 2800 to 2950? 13:50- What should non GMs do to improve their blitz ratings, and their games generally? Mentioned: Max Illingworth interview with Bryan Castro: http://www.betterchesstraining.com/2019/05/gm-max-illingworth.html The Woodpecker Method , CT-Art 23:45-Perpetual Chess is proud to be brought to you in part by Chessable.com. They are having a big sale this week, to check out what's available, you can go here: Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 24:30- Patreon mailbag question: “What advice do you have for one who wants to start solving endgame studies but finds most of them too difficult?” Mentioned: Philip Stamma Endgame Studies, Say Chess’ Blindfold Endgame Trainer is here: https://saychessblog.com/blindfold-endgame-puzzles/ 31:00- Another mailbag question: “What advice does Max have for club players on how to learn to evaluate positions?” Mentioned: Simple Chess, Podcast recapping Simple Chess 39:00- One more Patreon mailbag question: “How can one learn to assess one’s own strengths and weaknesses?” Mentioned: Openingtree.com, Aimchess.com 42:30- What Chessbooks does Max recommend? Mentioned: Logical Chess Move by Move, My System, Art of Attack in Chess, The Complete Chess Swindler by GM David Smerdon 47:30- Max tells the story of the moment that his competitive fire for chess was ignited. Mentioned: GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Ian Rogers, GM Darryl Johansen, IM John Paul Wallace 52:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com! Check out Chessmood’s blog is here: https://chessmood.com/blog and check out their YouTube, featuring Lessons with a Grandmaster here: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChessMood 53:00- Patreon question: “What advice does Max have for pursuing goals?” Mentioned: Episode 215 with Vishnu Sreekumar 57:00- How has Max been impacted by legendary Australian players Cecil Purdy and GM Ian Rogers? Mentioned: Chess Fundamentals by Jose Raoul Capablanca, IM Andras Toth, Van Perlo’s Endgame Tactics, IM Stephan Solomon 1:05:00- In closing, Max shares a few of his interests away from the board.? 1:09:00- Thanks to Max for joining the show! Here are the best ways to keep up with him. Web page- Illingworth Chess Academy Facebook- Max Illingworth | Facebook If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: Ben Johnson is creating Perpetual Chess Podcast | Patreon See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
EP.217 - "IM to GM" Adult Improver Special with IMs Lawrence Trent, Sean Nagle and Attila Turzo
This week’s podcast is a special feature that includes three different IM guests who are working to attain the Grandmaster title! My guests are popular commentator, IM Lawrence Trent, 9-time Minnesota State Champion IM Sean Nagle, and Hungary-based chess trainer, IM Attila Turzo. These guests have very different backgrounds, chess distances to travel and life situations, but they all share the common goal of wanting to earn the highest title in chess. Why is it important to them? What do they need to improve in order to climb this final steep step? What will their study routines entail? I know that many of you will also be pursuing new chess milestones and goals post-pandemic, so I hope that you find some good advice and inspiration in these 3 interviews! Please read on for more details and timestamps for each interview. For complete show notes and links, please go to the webpage: Episode 217- "IM to GM" special episode with IMs Lawrence Trent, Sean Nagle, and Attila Turzo 0:00- Intro Mentioned: IM Kostya Kavutskiy, IM Eric Rosen, IM Kassa Korley, IM John Bartholomew, IM Greg Shahade, IM Abimanyu Mishru, IM Christopher Yoo, IM Carissa Yip 5:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by HotSaucery.co You should try some of their delicious hot sauces. Use the promo code PERPETUAL to save 10%. You can Follow them on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/hot.saucery/ 6:00- IM Lawrence Trent joins the show! Lawrence is a frequent and popular chess commentator, streamer and content creator. He has served as the manager for his friend GM Fabiano Caruana, and was one of the co-hosts of the original chess podcast, The Full English Breakfast, with Macauley Peterson, GM Stephen Gordon, and GM Simon Williams. He joins us to share his reasons for deciding that now is the time for him to pursue his last GM norm and the 100 FIDE points that he requires to earn the GM title. Thanks to Lawrence for joining the show. 45:50- IM Sean Nagle joins the show. Sean is a Minnesota based Corporate and Securities Attorney, 9-time Minnesota State Chess Champion,husband, and dad of 3 kids. 1:30:30- IM Attila Turzo joins the show. Here is how you can contact him and track his quest: Twitch- https://www.twitch.tv/attilaturzo Twitter- https://twitter.com/AttilaTurzo?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCezDjmS_25xjLYi8_jLAWeA First Saturday Tournament- http://www.firstsaturday.hu/2012/index.htm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices